Tonight: The Academy Awards!

How did the Academy Awards Start?

Viewers can stream the 2021 Oscars through the ABC app.

You can live stream the 93rd Academy Awards by visiting the ABC website, or by downloading the ABC app.

The app is available on all major streaming platforms, including Roku, Google Play, and Apple.

Tonight is an interesting and innovative presentation that allows for a live show with links from around the world while still staying Covid-19 safe, with vaccinated guests.

Find out more about tonight’s show, who’s nominated, and more by clicking right here.

History of the Event

The Academy Awards (officially rebranded as “The Oscars” in 2013) originated in 1929, as a means to acknowledge outstanding achievement in the motion picture industry.

There was a small, private dinner ceremony on May 16, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California—under 300 people attended. An after-party at the Mayfair Hotel followed the main ceremony. Fifteen artists, directors and film-industry professionals were honored, but in contrast to later ceremonies, the winners had already been announced to the press three months earlier.

The tradition of the surprise reveal started with the second awards ceremony, in 1930, and the sealed envelope was introduced in 1941, after a newspaper leaked the news prematurely (the papers were given winning names early, with the agreement that they wouldn’t publish until 11:00 pm the night of the big event.)

The first Best Actor award went to Emil Jannings, for “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh.” It’s interesting to note that the early awards were given for all the work done by the recipient during the qualifying period, unlike modern awards, which are typically given for one specific film project. Life time achievement awards are one exception to this modern trend.

Another difference of interest to film enthusiasts pertains to the Foreign Film category. Foreign films were honored with special achievement awards until 1957, at the 29th Academy Awards Ceremony, when the Foreign Film Category was added to the repertoire.

To date nearly three thousand Oscar statuettes have been awarded to a wide range of film professionals and personalities.

While the Oscars honor outstanding achievement in motion pictures, the following major awards honor outstanding achievement in other entertainment and media venues:

  • Grammy Awards – Music industry
  • Emmy Awards – Television
  • Tony Awards – Stage Performance

The Oscars tonight!

How did the Academy Awards Start?

The Academy awards are tonight! It’s definitely Ladies’ Night: Glenn Close is up for a seventh time for best actress, and a life time achievement award is a definite possibility, while Lady GaGa is giving her a run for the money for her role opposite Bradley Cooper in the remake of a Hollywood Classic—A Star is Born. Melissa McCarthy, the consummate comedienne, challenges both with her moving portrayal of misanthropic struggling author turned literary forger Lee Israel in Can you ever forgive me?

Some very diverse films are up for best picture, ranging from Black Panther, a popular smash hit based on a comic book with a nearly all black cast, to Bohemian Rhapsody, the epic story of the Uber popular rock group Queen and the multi-talented Freddie Mercury.

ABC will be streaming the broadcast live, online for people logging in with certain online services. To find out how to watch online, click on this link.

 

Watch Academy Awards – 8:30 pm ET (Red Carpet: 7 pm)

Watch Academy Awards - 8:30 pm ET (Red Carpet: 7 pm)

Tonight’s Academy Awards, hosted once again by late night talk show host and funny man Jimmy Kimmel, should be very entertaining, with La La Land in position for a major sweep of the awards–maybe!

This year online viewing is tricky without a subscription to a cable or online television service. Here are a few options that you may find helpful when trying to view the Academy Awards tonight:

Watch Academy Awards (ABC – need subscription, not available in all markets)

 

Watch on Hulu – Free Trial for New Subscribers (Hulu.com)

 

Helpful links for watching Oscars on a device in certain locations (TheVerge.com)


Tips for watching internationally
 (Oscar.go.com)


Oscars – Red Carpet Arrivals
(Oscar.go.com)